Todd Walatka
Director of Master of Divinity
Associate Teaching Professor
Primary Field of Study: Systematic Theology
Education
Ph.D. University of Notre Dame
Research and Training Interests
Hans Urs von Balthasar; Latin American theology; the ecclesiology of Vatican II; Theology and Racism; Reception of Jewish thought in Catholic systematic theology
Selected Publications
Von Balthasar and the Option for the Poor: Theodramatics in the Light of Liberation Theology. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2017.
“Hans Urs von Balthasar and the Meaning of Christmas.” Theological Studies 81/4 (March 2021): 929-950.
“Fear of God in Liberation Theology,” in Saving Fear, ed. Ann Astell (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame, 2020): 353-378.
“Delighting in the Truth: St. Augustine and Theological Pedagogy Today.” In An Apocalypse of Love: Essays in Honor of Cyril O’Regan. Ed. Jennifer Newsome Martin and Anthony C. Sciglitano Jr. (New York: Herder and Herder, 2018), 136-148.
“The Principle of Mercy: Jon Sobrino and the Catholic Theological Tradition.” Theological Studies 77/1 (March 2016): 96-117.
“The Church as Sacrament: Gutiérrez and Sobrino as Interpreters of Lumen Gentium.” Horizons 42/1 (June 2015): 70-95.
Biography
Todd Walatka grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Dayton. After an M.T.S. and Ph.D. from Notre Dame, he took up his current position as the Assistant Chair for Graduate Studies in Theology in 2011. Specializing in contemporary Catholic systematic theology, his research includes work on Hans Urs von Balthasar, Latin American liberation theology, Archbishop Oscar Romero, and the interpretation and reception of Vatican II. He also works in the field of pedagogy and pedagogical formation, both in his role as Assistant Chair for Graduate Studies and in his research. His most recent courses taught include: Foundations of Theology; Introduction to Vatican II; Christian Traditions II; Mercy and Liberation; Fundamentals of Systematic Theology; Theology en español, Ecclesiology; Eschatology; and Teaching Theology. His two ongoing book projects explore 1) the history of Vatican II and 2) the theological witness of Archbishop Oscar Romero.
Contact
125 Malloy
(574) 631-6158
twalatka@nd.edu